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The quickest and most delicious way to cook asparagus, the air fryer makes preparing this side dish so easy! Top your Air Fryer Asparagus with a touch of lemon and parmesan cheese for the best ready-in-10-minute-side-dish ever!
How to Make Asparagus in the Air Fryer
The perfect spring side dish, this Air Fryer Asparagus is amazing with a hint of bright lemon and a bit of salty parmesan. It’s so simple and quick to make in the air fryer that we basically will only cook it this way going forward. Just ten minutes stand between you and crisp-tender asparagus with this recipe.
Why Air Fry Asparagus?
Because it cooks so quickly and results in some perfectly crisp asparagus! I was slightly skeptical about using my air fryer for something like cooking veggies before trying it, but once I did I fell in love with how it turns veggies into something truly delicious. Because the air circulates around the asparagus as it cooks, it insures that all of the spears get the crispness on the outside, and in very little time.
What Type of Air Fryer to Use
New to the world of air frying and not sure which one to get? We’ve tried quite a few air fryers over the years. We have and use this basket style, this Instant Pot air fryer attachment and this toaster-style air fryer! They all work great! It’s quite a personal preference which you choose. Some questions to think about when purchasing one are: Do you want/need a new toaster? Do you have space for a solo new appliance? All these things will go into consideration when shopping and deciding which of those will work for you.
What should be noted about air fryers though is that some of them can be quite small. If yours has a small capacity, you may have to make food in batches. Though I’m guessing if you’ve been using this air fryer for a while, you’ve already learned that.
And for this asparagus recipe, having a basket with a large enough capacity to lay flat one pound of asparagus stalks is essential. If your basket is smaller than our toaster style one, you may have to make this in two batches.
Steps to Cook Asparagus in the Air Fryer
This recipe is pretty simple, but it does involve using a timer here to make sure you are tossing around the asparagus halfway through the cooking.
- Clean that asparagus! Asparagus spears can have some hidden grit in them. So either submerge them in cold water or rinse them really well.
- Trim the ends of the asparagus. To see how much you need to trim asparagus, take a spear and bend the end of one until it naturally breaks. Wherever it naturally breaks is where the spear should be trimmed to avoid the woody ends of the asparagus. You can either trim the end with the knife, or snap each piece until it naturally breaks.
- Spray the asparagus stalks (we like to use avocado oil spray that contains no other added ingredients) with a light coating of oil. Or you can drizzle it on and rub it over the stocks. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and make sure the asparagus is in
- Air fry the asparagus, turning halfway through.
- Transfer asparagus to a platter, and sprinkle with lemon and parmesan!
- Serve with your main meal!
Main Dishes to Serve with Air Fryer Asparagus
Looking for some main course inspiration for what to serve with this lemon and parm asparagus? Here are some suggestions:
- How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot
- How to Make a Spatchcock Chicken
- Skirt Steak with Italian Salsa Verde
- Garlic and Lime Marinated Flank Steak
- How to Sear a Steak
- Jalapeño Salmon Burgers
- Horseradish Salmon
Air Fryer Asparagus with Lemon and Parmesan
Ingredients
- 1 pound asparagus washed and ends trimmed (see note)
- Avocado oil or spray see note
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 1 heaping tablespoon shaved parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 375ºF (if necessary, not all air-fryers need to pre-heat).
- Add prepared asparagus to the air fryer basket and toss and spray with a light coating of avocado spray, (or drizzle it on). Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and evenly spread out asparagus spears in one layer.
- Air fry for 10 minutes, tossing the spears halfway through, or until asparagus is tender-crisp. Thicker spears may take a few extra minutes.
- Transfer asparagus to a serving platter, and sprinkle with lemon juice, lemon zest and parmesan. Taste and adjust seasoning, as desired.
